Does anybody care for the voters of K’taka anymore after elections?

ROHIT CHANDAVARKAR

Thursday, 17 May 2018

Alliaince games
Bringing development, action against corruption, giving good governance are the basic ideas both sides were talking about. Just 48 hours after the results were announced, one sees all concentration of all political parties involved happening only on getting as many MLAs on their side as possible and going to any extent to ensure that.

After a high pitch poll battle in Karnataka, it is time for the dramatic post poll manoeuvres which the entire country is witnessing. The election has thrown up somewhat expected results of almost a hung assembly.

Next few days are very crucial as politics of engineering MLAs’ defections will be played to the hilt. But the big question is what happens now to the promises given by all political parties to the voters (people) of Karnataka? Does anybody care for the voters anymore?

The whole purpose of this democratic exercise of holding elections seems to be worthless if one looks at how nobody now seems to be even looking at the issues on which the elections were fought. Bringing development, action against corruption, giving good governance are the basic ideas both sides (Congress and BJP) were talking about.

Just 48 hours after the results were announced, one sees all concentration of all political parties involved happening only on getting as many MLAs on their side as possible and going to any extent to ensure that. The Congress was seen claiming during the campaign that ‘JDS is BJP’s B team’.. if so how come the Congress is now getting into an alliance with the same party to stake claim to form the government?

The BJP now claims that they are in touch with as many as 6 MLAs from JDS and 4 MLAs even from the Congress Party who are willing to support them in the assembly! Does this mean that the BJP is willing to form the government with the support of some leaders who have got elected on a Congress ticket?

And what is the BJP going to give them in return? All these questions and the probable answers to these questions lead to the conclusion that there is no scope left later to deliver anything that was promised by political parties during the poll campaign.
One lesson of these elections is to observe how people of India have been voting with anti-incumbency spirit. In Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, in Goa and many other states, it has become obvious how people are very unhappy with the state government’s governance and want a change.

So in states where the BJP was in power with its alliance partners such as Punjab or Goa, people voted for Congress, making it the largest single party in the assembly, while in states where there was Congress in power, people have gone in favour of BJP.

This is happening obviously because people feel their expectations are not being met by either of the parties and looking at the present situation, it seems very obvious that similar disappointment will be felt by the public few years from now, whichever party’s government takes over in Bengaluru this time.

This is so because all efforts and resources are going to be spent on ‘coming to power and retaining power’ and there will be no scope for fulfilling any of the promises given to the voters no matter which party comes to power!